Michael Jackson

by J. Randy Taraborrelli

  The Sworn Declaration of George M. Goffin in Support of Motion for Withdrawal as Attorney of Record, 1 November 1983, detailed Goffin’s attempts to continue with the divorce action in the case of Katherine Jackson v. Joseph Jackson and Mrs Jackson’s unavailability to him. It explained the possible reasons why she had changed her mind about the divorce.

  Twenty other documents pertaining to this divorce action were also reviewed.

  Some of the late Enid Jackson’s comments were culled from an interview conducted with her on 7 November 1990.

  Thriller and Victory Tour Years

  I obtained a thirty-page Sworn Declaration by Michael Jackson in Carlin Music Corporation v. Michael Jackson, case number C347206, 28 February 1983. In it, Michael explained why he was angry not only with his father but also with Ron Weisner and Freddy DeMann. Jackson also explained his publishing goals, his future plans at CBS Records, and John Branca’s new involvement in his career. The document is signed by Jackson in huge, scrawling letters.

  Mickey Free was interviewed on 7 June 1989.

  I also drew from Gerri Hirshey’s features on Michael Jackson in Rolling Stone (see bibliography).

  I referred to Alexander Lowen, Narcissism: Denial of the True Self (New York: Macmillan, 1981) and Alice Miller, Prisoners of Childhood (translated from German by Ruth Ward, New York: Basic Books, 1981).

  I viewed many hours of Steve Howell’s extensive video collection of Michael Jackson at home in Encino in order to be able to describe Hayvenhurst. Michael Jackson was upset with Steve Howell when Howell, a former employee, attempted to sell copies of these tapes to the television programme A Current Affair. Howell claimed that, as the cameraman, he owned the tapes. Jackson claimed that, as Howell’s employer, he (Jackson) was the owner. A Current Affair aired some of the footage but decided against further broadcasts.

  Steve Howell was interviewed for this book on 28 August, 4 September and 12 September 1990.

  I wrote in detail about Suzanne dePasse’s efforts to recruit talent for the Motown 25 special in my book Call Her Miss Ross. I drew from some of that research. Michael Jackson also wrote about his meeting with Berry Gordy in his autobiography, Moonwalk. I also drew from interviews with James McField (30 October 1990) and Geron ‘Casper’ Canidate (29 October 1980), Jermaine Jackson (27 May 1980), Larry Anderson (23 October 1990), Joyce McCrae (15 October 1990), Carole Lieberman (8 January 1991) and Randall King (1 September 1989).

  I also drew from published reports of the firing of Weisner-DeMann.

  I referred to Dave Nussbaum’s interview with Michael Jackson published in the Globe, 10 April 1984.

  John Branca provided some background for the information on the Victory tour as he did for an article in Rolling Stone by Michael Goldberg, from which I also culled information. I attended the press conference at the Tavern on the Green on 30 November 1983.

  Some of the information about Don King’s background was culled from 1984 Current Biography Yearbook.

  Background on Jehovah’s Witnesses came from Barbara Grizzuti Harrison’s Visions of Glory: A History and a Memory of Jehovah’s Witnesses (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978). I also referred to comments by Michael Jackson in the 22 May 1984 issue of Awake!

  Louise Gilmore was interviewed on 3 August 1990; Seth Riggs was interviewed by my researcher John Redman on 14 October 1990. I also drew from an interview I conducted with Joseph Layton on 23 December 1986, for my book Carol Burnett – Laughing Till It Hurts (William Morrow, 1988).

  I also referred to Roger Enrico’s The Other Guy Blinked (New York: Bantam, 1986).

  The incident with Michael’s glove was described by Bob Giraldi in The Making of Thriller. I interviewed witnesses to the accident on 27 January 1984, and referred to newspaper accounts. There were also a number of anonymous sources for information in these sections of the book.

  Janet Jackson’s Annulment of Marriage from James DeBarge

  I interviewed James DeBarge in July 1995, after the original edition of this book was published.

  Details on Janet Jackson’s marriage to James DeBarge and the eventual annulment of that union were culled from the following documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Los Angeles County, all file number 05113:

  Petition to Nullify Marriage, filed by Janet Dameta DeBarge, 30 January 1985.

  Income and Expense Declaration of Janet Dameta DeBarge, 30 January 1985.

  Request to Enter Default, 4 June 1985.

  Summons served to James Curtis DeBarge, 10 April 1985.

  Amended Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, filed by Janet Dameta DeBarge, 17 July 1985.

  Notice of Entry of Judgment, 18 November 1985.

  Notice of Annulment and Restoration of Wife’s Former Name to Janet Dameta Jackson, 18 November 1985.

  Also shedding light on Janet’s marriage were details of the lawsuit that resulted from a traffic accident in which Janet and James DeBarge were involved while driving Katherine Jackson’s Mercedes-Benz. The suit, brought by Manuel R. Mendez, Carmen Mendez and Barbara Beebe, a minor, against Katherine Jackson, James DeBarge and Janet Jackson, was recorded in the following documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Los Angeles County, all case number C522917:

  Complaint – Personal Injury, Property Damage, Wrongful Death, 15 November 1984.

  Manuel R. Mendez, Carmen Mendez and Barbara Beebe, a minor, v. Katherine Jackson and Janet Jackson, 8 January 1985.

  Manuel R. Mendez, Carmen Mendez and Barbara Beebe, a minor, v. Katherine Jackson, James DeBarge and Janet Jackson, 2 March 1988.

  Declaration of Robert J. Davis, 30 January 1989. Davis was the Jackson’s attorney. This document illustrated Davis’s difficulty in obtaining payment for his work from Katherine Jackson and Janet Jackson, and also demonstrated the way the family tends to deal rather unfairly with attorneys representing them.

  Interrogatories to Defendant, Janet Jackson, 28 February 1985. Janet Jackson discussed her relationship with James DeBarge, her mother and other family members. It is fascinating that most of what Ms Jackson was compelled to reveal here had nothing at all to do with the minor accident in which she was involved.

  Post-Victory Tour Years

  Louis Farrakhan’s comments about Michael Jackson were widely published on 12 April 1983.

  The Denise Worrell Time magazine story was published on 19 March 1984. I also drew from my interviews with Michael’s cousin, Tim Whitehead, and with Steve Howell. I also interviewed Kenneth Nagle (3 January 1989), Harry Weber (3 February 1990), Patty Kellar (15 March 1990), Ted Culver (3 April 1990), David Kelsey (5 May 1990) and Harold Long (19 May 1990). I drew from Cathy Griffin’s interview with Joyce McCrae.

  John Branca provided some background information on the ATV acquisition on 9 January 1991, just as he had done for Robert Hillburn’s analysis of the acquisition in the Los Angeles Times on 22 September 1985, which I also utilized as secondary source material. I also drew from published interviews with Paul McCartney (see bibliography).

  Bad Years to 1991

  Frank Dileo met with my private investigator and researcher Cathy Griffin for three hours at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in Los Angeles on 11 October 1990. Some of the material in this book was culled from that conversation. A meeting was set up between Dileo and myself on 19 October 1990. However, just prior to that date, a People magazine article about Dileo was published in which he was critical of Michael Jackson. After receiving an intimidating telephone call from one of Jackson’s representatives, Dileo decided not to meet with me.

  I then interviewed Frank Dileo in August 1995, after the original edition of this book was published.

  Byron Moore and Max Hart were interviewed on 30 August 1990. Mitchell Fink reported on Michael’s viewing of Purple Rain in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner on 5 July 1984.

  I utilized J. C. Stevenson’s article on Janet Jackson in Spin and also referred to Cathy Griffin’s interview with Joyce McCrae.

  Most of my sources regarding Michael Ja
ckson’s publicity stunts – the sprained wrist during the filming of Captain EO, the hyperbaric chamber and the Elephant Man’s bones – must remain confidential due to the nature of these sources’ employment in the record industry. I did refer to ‘Michael’s Next Thrill: An Oxygen Chamber’ in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner (17 September 1986), ‘Michael Jackson’s Bizarre Plan to Live to 150’ in the National Enquirer (16 September 1986) and ‘Michael Jackson Wants Merrick’s Bones’ by Patricia Freeman in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner (30 May 1987). I also referred to a story about Michael’s hyperbaric chamber in Time (September 1986). Charles Montgomery, who wrote the hyperbaric chamber story, was interviewed in January 1991. Jack Richardson was interviewed on 23 October 1990. The joke about Michael’s nose was published in Playboy in the December 1987 issue.

  A note about ‘We Are the World’: by January 1991, more than sixty-one million dollars had been raised from the sales of this song to fight hunger in Ethiopia. In addition to record sales, funds also came from the marketing of ‘We Are the World’ T-shirts, posters, books and videos.

  In other unrelated matters, I used as secondary material ‘Buckle Debacle’ by Bill Steigerwalk in the Los Angeles Times (8 November 1987). I also referred to my interview with Jerome Howard in discussing Katherine Jackson’s interest in working for Michael Jackson.

  In the matter of Michael Jackson’s 1988 purchase of Sycamore Ranch, I had a number of anonymous sources, and I also relied on an extensive Property Profile supplied by Continental Lawyers Title Company on 27 September 1990, which includes an in-depth, legal description of the ranch. The profile also includes the Individual Grant Deed filed on 11 April 1988, in which John Branca and Marshall Gelfand, co-trustees under the Trust Agreement dated 11 April 1988, granted the property to Michael Jackson.

  Also interviewed: Gary Berwin (16 November 1990), Steven Harris (17 November 1990), Phillip Meadows (22 November 1990), Bernard Pancheco (1 December 1990), Virginia August (3 December 1990), Glenn Bascome (6 December 1990), Patty Kellar (8 December 1990) and Douglas Wilson (10 December 1990). Frank Dileo discussed his feelings about being fired by Michael Jackson in numerous published interviews to promote the film GoodFellas. I also referred to Dileo’s television appearances to promote the film, including one on Personalities on 25 October 1990.

  The story about Michael Jackson, the Blarney Stone and AIDS was published in the Rolling Stone issue of 6 October 1988.

  LaToya Jackson’s allegations that Michael had been molested as a child were reprinted in numerous publications and also broadcast on CNN in July 1988. She and I also discussed the matter in 1993, in Spain, after the original edition of this book was published.

  In the matter of Lavon Muhammad, aka Billie Jean, I used as source material Muhammad’s handwritten Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, 19 January 1988, and the case of Michael Jackson v. Lavon Muhammad, 1 February 1987, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Los Angeles County, case number 17925. Numerous employees were subpoenaed to testify to Muhammad’s harassment of Michael Jackson.

  I obtained a copy of Michael Jackson’s current contracts with CBS Records. I also had a number of anonymous sources, many of whom are still working for Michael Jackson, who provided the bulk of the information in the last two chapters of the book.

  Dr Robert Kotler was interviewed on 4 November 1990.

  Donna Burton, Dr Steven Hoefflin’s secretary, was contacted on 30 November 1990.

  I also referred to the Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs, seventh edition, by the American Pharmaceutical Association.

  I reviewed the transcript of the Jacksons’ appearance on Donahue, 10 November 1989, and the transcript of LaToya Jackson’s appearance on Donahue, 9 February 1989. I also reviewed the transcript of Katherine Jackson’s appearance on Sally Jessy Rafael, 30 November 1990.

  Janet Jackson is the first artist to have seven Top Five singles from one album, her Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814. She signed one of the largest recording contracts in history when she pacted with Virgin Records in March 1991 for an estimated thirty-two million dollars. Some observers feel that Michael may have delayed the finalization of his own ‘billion-dollar’ contract with CBS (now Sony) until Janet’s deal was announced, giving her the chance to hold the record for biggest contract before stepping back in to reclaim it for himself.

  Michael Jackson and the Koreans

  Regarding the Korean/Moonies incident, I drew from personal interviews with Jerome Howard on 29 October 1990 and Kenneth Choi on 11 January 1990.

  I also used as source material the following documents filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, all case number CV 90 4906 KN:

  Segye Times, Inc., v. Joseph Jackson, Katherine Jackson, Jackson Records Company, Inc., Jackson Family Concerts International, Jerome Howard, Kyu-Sun Choi, Mi Rae Choi, Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Bill Bray, Ben Brown d/b/a Jackson Marketing & Distributing Company and Does 1 to 100, 17 October 1990.

  Bill Bray v. Kenneth Choi, 17 October 1990.

  Michael Jackson v. Segye Times, Inc., 17 October 1990.

  Sworn Declaration of Michael Jackson, 17 October 1990.

  Michael Jackson v. Kenneth Choi, 17 October 1990.

  Sworn Declaration of Bill Bray, 17 October 1990.

  Answer of Defendant Michael Jackson to First Amended Complaint, 17 October 1990.

  Answer of Defendant Bill Bray to First Amended Complaint, 17 October 1990.

  Katherine Jackson v. LaToya Jackson Gordon and Jack Gordon

  Details of the lawsuit brought by Katherine Jackson against LaToya Jackson were culled from the following documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Los Angeles County, case number NWC55803:

  Katherine Jackson v. Jack Gordon; LaToya Jackson aka LaToya Gordon, February 28, 1990.

  Notice of Pendency of Action, Katherine Jackson v. Jack Gordon; LaToy a Jackson a/k/a LaToya Gordon, 2 March 1990.

  Michael Jackson and Jordie Chandler

  I interviewed Michael in August 1994, regarding Jordie and Evan Chandler’s allegations. Most of the material from that interview was deemed too sensitive at the time and, therefore, went unpublished until now, with the publication of this revised edition of Michael Jackson: The Magic and the Madness. Some of it, however, appeared in the following articles I wrote, from which I also drew for the new edition of this book: ‘Michael Jackson: “I’d Never Hurt a Child” – World Exclusive: First Interview Since Explosive Charges’ by J. Randy Taraborrelli (Michael’s Noted Biographer), Star, 6 September 1994; ‘Save Me, Elizabeth. Save my Life! – World Exclusive’ by J. Randy Taraborrelli, Star, 13 September 1994; ‘Shocking Truth About Michael Jackson Strip-Search Photos – What they Show – World Exclusive’ by J. Randy Taraborrelli, Star, 20 September 1994.

  I attended at least a dozen press conferences relating to the allegations and took advantage of the many opportunities I had to question attorneys Bert Fields and Howard Weitzman and investigator Anthony Pellicano to clear confusing matters in my mind, and then reported my findings on American television broadcasts relating to the case. (Note that the secretly tape-recorded conversations between Evan Chandler and Dave Schwartz were played by Anthony Pellicano during two such press conferences, on 30 August and 1 September 1993. The tapes were also broadcast on the television programme American Justice, 21 September 1994.)

  Most of my other sources for information regarding the sensitive issue of Jordie Chandler must remain confidential.

  In a perfect world, there would be no reason for confidentiality: everyone would be able to speak his mind without fear of repercussions. However, many of those interviewed are high-profile people who still work in the entertainment industry today. Others work in the Los Angeles Department of Children’s Services, the Sheriffs Department of Santa Barbara, California, and the Child Abuse Unit of the Los Angeles Police Department. It is not fair to expect these sources to risk their careers and the trust of their clients (if they are in the represent
ation field) so that they can assist me in my work with a book. Other than to set the record straight, these individuals have nothing to gain from offering valuable insight and, in some cases, everything to lose.

  The same is true of reporters who work for Associated Press and other news agencies that utilize confidential sources, I make every effort to check the legitimacy and accuracy of any source who requests anonymity. If I do not trust a source, no information from that person is utilized – whether the person requested anonymity or not. Also, I always have more than one source for any information that might be considered controversial.

  Whether to use significant information given under a condition of anonymity is always a difficult decision for a writer. However, I feel a strong obligation to my readers to present the facts as best I can, just as I feel an obligation to my sources to protect them should they feel protection is necessary.

  From the text, the reader should be able to glean that I have interviewed most of the principals involved in the Jordie Chandler matter over the years, even though they wish not to be acknowledged here.

  I also drew from lengthy conversations with Larry Feldman, Michael Freeman, Anthony Pellicano, Diane Dimond, Vinnie Zuffante, Mark Quindoy, Jack Gordon, LaToya Jackson, Ernie Rizzo, Lauren Weis, Gary Spiegel, Robert Wegner, Charles T. Matthews, Tom Sneddon, Harry Benson, Russell Turiak and Susan Crimp.

  I also referred to voluminous court records and documents, including complaints, motions and depositions pertaining to ‘Jordan Chandler v. Michael Jackson‘ Case Number SC026226.

  Moreover, I referred to all of the documents pertaining to Chandler v. Jackson (ABC and Diane Sawyer and Lisa Marie Presley), Court Case Number SM097360. This was the case filed by Evan Chandler after Michael and Lisa appeared in a television broadcast with Diane Sawyer and proclaimed his innocence.